Ben-DutkaTo many, Resident Evil is a franchise that's currently on the way down.
Even so, in a recent Capcom document entitled "Business Divisional Strategies and Projections," which is supposed to display the company's "Competitive Edge," the controversial series sits at #1 (via GameSpot ).
There are 6 powerful IPs on Capcom's list and here they are, broken down in terms of total sales to date:
Now, this list clearly doesn't include just sales numbers alone, as the esteemed Mega Man series has sold over 30 million, and Onimusha has sold over 8 million. Obviously, though, those franchises aren't exactly active anymore, while the ones on that list most certainly are.
I'm just wondering how much "power" Resident Evil has right now. I know it's iconic, even legendary. I know that if Capcom announced RE7 at E3 this year, everyone would be going nuts. It'd be talked about like crazy. In that respect, I suppose there is plenty of power and influence. At the same time, Resident Evil 6 kicked off a flurry of fan activity and frankly, none of it was good. Many are saying the franchise isn't even survival/horror anymore, which is a big problem as RE is the pioneer for that genre.
If anything, I'd say RE is one of those IPs that has a lot to prove in the new generation. In my view, I see a "powerful" franchise as one that is absolutely guaranteed to hit big. If Capcom keeps it up, RE7 will not hit big. Just look at the rapidly declining sales of the Final Fantasy franchise; maybe Capcom execs should sit down and have a little pow-wow with Square Enix execs.
Well, as Square Enix apparently hasn't learned anything, maybe that would be futile. But you get my point.
Hope RE7 turns out somewhat like RE4..
I went back and tried to play RE4 recently and the controls just don't hold up after playing RE5 (or RE6 for that matter). And I'm not talking about the stopping to shoot, that was ok. RE5 (and RE6) added the ability to strafe…no going back after that.
A RE4 type experience with updated controls is probably what most long time fans are after.
I know the PS3 generation killed all of my interest in Resident Evil. I'm down for The Evil Within instead. Horror must be the paramount element or it is just more action.
Looking at that list I'm most interested in what will happen with Devil May Cry next. Will they have the sheer balls to continue it where DmC left off or if they will try to pretend it never happened due to the low sales. That was such a shame the fans rejected such a great game. The end of DmC set it up perfectly to be just like it was in the PS2 days anyway.
DmC had low sales?? Inconceivable! I thoroughly enjoyed playing it! What an amazing game!!
If people were turned off by Dante's look or age for the reboot then it's really their loss. Such petty foolishness is really a shame.
It only barely broke a million sales. I wish that Capcom would follow that continuity just as a f**k you to the haters, and as an internal admission that from a narrative perspective (if not entirely a mechanical one), it was vastly superior to their original creation.
Just as a sidenote, I'd like to know this community's thoughts on the reboot, but rather than sounding off, can we run a poll on my thumbs-up/down? Whoever reads this, thumbs-up if you're for the reboot, and thumbs-down if you're not. Please?
I'm thumbing in favor of the boot, it was awesome all the way through and cut out all the extraneous garbage that made some of the others tedious.
(deep breath to prepare for downvotes)
So…I played through RE5 five times with 3 different friends and RE6 twice with the same friend. The series may have strayed from it's survival/horror roots, but it's still been FUN, despite people (myself included) whining like a bunch of pansies.
Stopping to shoot mechanic or not. Just good fun, which games are supposed to be.
The co-op aspect was superb in RE5 and 6. And mercenaries mode was always fun and addictive.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 5/11/2014 11:43:56 PM
They're goog games, just not Resident Evil games. What do I know!? I'm not even a BIG fan AF RE, it I still played 5 and 6.
To be fair you played with a co-op friend, that makes everything good. As a 3AM dark room/headphones single player horror lover you might've had a different experience.
Sorry for my grammar mistakes, I'm not drunk, I swear! Stupid touchscreen tablets…. Ugghhh.
I too enjoyed RE6 (that's my first RE) but World do have a point: Playing a game in coop with a friend adds *so* much to the experience.
But yeah – I really want another Resident Evil like the 6th one, with coop. We truly had a blast.
" They're goog games, just not Resident Evil games "
That pretty much sum it up for me . Good games but not what re fan want .
First thing they need to do is drop coop or at the very least , don t force it , do it like Dead space 2 did.
I think the best thing to do after that is look at The last of us for the survival part .
You could play with a piece of bouncing poop in co-op and it'd be fun cuz it's all based around your friendship.
Mercenaries Mode was one of those great modes that started out with me just struggling just to stay alive for any amount of time; then, after playing enough and honing my skills, that point came where I found myself able to focus on racking up the points rather than frantically (or hopelessly) trying to avoid death.
Good times.
I hope they keep that mode in future RE games.
Last edited by SaiyanSenpai on 5/11/2014 11:45:49 PM
Man, I loved Resident Evil 6. Besides a few sore spots like every single vehicle scene sucking and seemingly tacked on, it was an enjoyable ride. Never truly understood the hate. On paper, it should have been successful. Varied and long campaign upwards of 30 hours which is absolutely unheard of for a game of this type, the inclusion of nearly every aspect of every RE before it, controls that are sublime, a story that made sense and had heart(Sherry and Jake both using their villainous fathers' legacies to be heroes) crazy, imaginative enemies, great co-op and MP.
Still, Capcom hasn't let it slip too far with multiple hated titles that an entry that has a lot less bang won't revitalize it in the hearts and minds of gamers.
You said it. On paper it seemed like it could work.
In practice though, it was a bloated mess. It was a Jack of all trades, master of none.
It didn't excel at anything in the main campaigns. Everything was predictable, generic and done by the numbers.
And throwing RE canon and old characters into the mix, felt like it was tacked on. And cheap. Like Jake being a reluctant 'good guy' as oppose to his father wasn't exactly original. Heck, the whole concept of Wesker JR. wasn't original to begin with. It was like something straight from Dragon Ball freakin' Z.
There were no scares whatsoever. None. Boss fights were ridiculous and hard to take seriously. Even in the context of the game. Especially anything having to do with Simmons (my God, the whole turning into a giant house-fly and a dinosaur).
The inventory sucked @$$. The one in RE5 was better for this type of action game.
Too many shootouts. Nemesis using a weapon in RE3 was fine. But generic enemies having weapons was too much in RE6.
Anyway, the multiplayer in RE6 can be fun. But most long-time fans don't buy a mainline RE game for that. They buy it for the main campaigns. And RE6 dropped the ball with those.
I disagree with you. Respectfully, of course. And I'm about as long time as fans get. Day one with a box fan roaring onto my ps1, praying to the gaming gods the thing didnt overheat as I was playing this awesomeness that was Res 1.
The inventory system worked fine. D pad left or right for firearms, up and down for grenades and first aid spray and R2 for health pills. And R2 and square to convert queued herbs into pills on the fly. What was bad about that?
I enjoyed all of the boss battles. Simmons was that classic boss who just won't die. Kind of like Will Birkin in Resi 2. He was a giant dog and a blob. Sure, his forms were a bit ridiculous, but they fit in the Resi universe.
Jake wasn't the most original character. I'd say more akin to Star Wars than DBZ.
But in the Resi universe most characters are black and white, good or evil. Not much depth. His struggle to come to grips with the man he was was a refreshing addition to the series for me.
I do agree with the shootouts but again in a world that is built around viruses that create weapons and in Resi 5 a black market was touched upon, it makes sense. Not gameplay wise, if you are married to the original style of play, but the departure was not out of the realm of believability if you've followed the series.
Maybe I am just an apologist and in some way should feel as incensed as others doñ but I can't. I enjoyed the game a great deal.
Funny story, true story, I went to best buy to do in store pickup of the crappy Operation Raccoon City for $5 and they gave me RE6 brand new. That's how I played it, otherwise I wouldn't have.
I daresay that their interpretation of power includes mainstream media, which includes the (somehow) successful film series. Taken that way, it is very much in the public consciousness, and that gives it a rather broad reach, even if the games haven't been as well received recently as they have been in the past.
Not sure how they can get away with repackaging Street Fighter 4 half a dozen times and still have people buying it, but whatever. Really don't understand how MH is so successful; I only played Freedom Unite, but it was not for me in any way, shape or form.
Which brings me to DMC. I love that series. While I, like many fans of the original, would love to know what happened to Dante after the end of DMC2, I'd much rather see them follow the NT's continuity going forward (I'd be happy if they contracted NT just to do the story and art, and did everything else themselves because dat Panta Rhei). Of course, if they could fuse the two continuities… Maybe have Original Dante getting his a** whooped in Hell, and activating a Hell Gate that goes awkward and rips a hole between dimensions, where New Dante springs from and helps out. Then the game takes the tact of DMC4 with having two protagonists with different abilities on alternating/convergent paths.
I know that's a bit insane, but I would love the awesomeness of that, and then they could play with both chronologies, either alternating between them, or having two games in each new release following the two Dante's in parallel stories. I'll shut up now.
i won't be the one to pass judge ment cos i don't know any where near enough to do so but from what ive heard thats a pritty heafty statement and a highly contriversial one and i will leave it at that.
happy gaming =)
i haven't seen anything new in that franchise since the groundbreaking RE4
Wow is DMC really only 13 million units? I find that a bit surprising.
Also the 61 Million is a little less impressive when you realize there have been 24 Resident Evil games, including remakes and complete editions but not the HD remasters.
Let's hope Resident Evil 7 is good.
Last edited by Shauneepeak on 5/12/2014 3:45:27 AM
id like to think that crapcoms going to return RE with 7.
at least with 6 they experimented with the three campaigns, and quite clearly leons was the clear favorite, and by far the closest to survival horror.
not to mention the recent resident evil revelations which was probably one of the best survival horror games in YEARS!
so hopefully it wont turn out so bad.
maybe a reboot for its not such a bad idea, it worked wonders with DMC!
now we just need a reboot of bionic commando, and lost planet, and were set!
RRRRRRRRESSSIDDENT EEEEEEEEEEVILLLLLLLLLL!
Last edited by Japanese_Gamer on 5/12/2014 8:32:53 AM
Onimusha Comeback
I'm still ticked off I never got to know what happened to Axl at the end of Mega Man X8.
I need another breath of fire or Shadow of rome ( another Dragon dogma would be nice too ). Capcom , make it happen .
As for mega men , i ll go towards Mighty no 9 to fill my needs .
Last edited by berserk on 5/12/2014 10:18:49 AM
Shadow of Rome…amazing. Capcom was the best publisher of the sixth gen hands down.